VfL before another coaching change?
©IMAGO
While those responsible for relegation-threatened VfL Wolfsburg remain silent after the next setback in the Bundesliga, coach Daniel Bauer remains combative. “I’m totally willing and totally ready to go down this path. I’m the last person who will duck out,” said the 43-year-old after the bitter 4-0 defeat at VfB Stuttgart. “I’m aware of the responsibility and I’m very, very happy to take on the responsibility. But at the end of the day, it’s not my decision-making power.”
Neither managing director Peter Christiansen nor sports director Pirmin Schwegler took a position after the final whistle. At least immediately before the game, supervisory board chairman Sebastian Rudolph expressed his confidence in the wobbling farmer and denied discussions with Felix Magath.
After the game, the “Kicker” reported that a change of coach was being intensively discussed at the Wolves and that Dieter Hecking could take over for Bauer and thus return. The 61-year-old was on the sidelines for Lower Saxony from January 2013 to October 2016 in 165 games (point average 1.75) and celebrated triumph with them in the DFB Cup and Super Cup in 2015. VfL also became runner-up under the veteran. Hecking was most recently head coach of VfL Bochum until the summer of last year, but since then he has been without a job. According to “Bild” information, there was still no contact with Hecking as of Sunday evening.
Only Gerhardt is at VfL Wolfsburg
After the defeat in Stuttgart, only Yannick Gerhardt was among the players. “At the moment we can’t show that we are suitable for the Bundesliga, that’s true. The trend is overwhelming,” said the midfielder, who did not want to comment on the coach’s future. “In the end, that’s not my responsibility. But you just have to look at the past and see how many coaches we’ve worn out. We just have to find the players now who can get it over the finish line.”
After 24 match days and the last seven games without a win, VfL has fallen to the penultimate place in the table and will face Hamburger SV at home on Saturday (3:30 p.m.). “I hope I can coach next week,” said Bauer, who took over from Paul Simonis in November.
